Ten Thousand Pieces
by Padfoot the Black
Summary: Sequel to In the End. Evil has not been vanquished yet. There is a new villain in town, one with a mysterious past and a burning vengeance. A thief of dreams and a burglar of souls, he is out to victimize Jump City...but three stand in his way.
1. Chapter 1

The sequel to **In the End **is here.

The evening was dense and muggy as Raven sat out on the shore of the bay, idly watching the heat waves shimmer off the water. Above her head, the first pale stars were beginning to emerge from the warm fog that had descended over the island. She contemplated the damp air that weighed so heavily on her body tonight, like an invisible set of weights. It was making her sleepy, and the sound of the waves on the rocks before her didn't help.

All of a sudden, a familiar blaring noise jerked her out of that half-daze. The alarm was going off, for the first time in a long while. Lately, it seemed the forces of crime had been on hiatus. But apparently, today they were back on duty. They had great timing, as always. Cyborg and Starfire had left that afternoon to aid the Titans East, who were crumbling at the seams, and had been since a few months after Cyborg left them on their own, according to Bumblebee. She levitated herself quickly into the tower common room, coming to a stp behind her two remaining friends. All three of them looked at the huge wall screen.

"What's going on?" Raven inqured quietly.

"That's what we're trying to find out," the boy wonder answered, casting a glance over his shoulder at her.

"Check this out," Beast Boy added. He pressed a button on the keyboard, pulling up a series of images. "This is the downtown square about ten minutes ago." She gazed at screenshots of a security camera showing a thick, black smog-like substance hovering in the air.

"So...why aren't we down there?" The boys turned to her again.

"Because...of this." BB pressed another key. "These are of the same area, five minutes later." The only thing remaining of the mass of blackness were a few wisps of thin, smoky trails, fast fading away into the dusky sky.

"In other words, it was there and gone," Robin said. "There wasn't time for us to get down there in the first place. The call came in after it had already disappeared."

"That's efficient," the demoness remarked. Beast Boy was doing something intently at the monitor.

"Hey guys, look at this. Some more of those photos just got through." The dark girl leaned in to see them over Robin's shoulder, laying a hand on his back to maintain balance. Several grainy images had appeared before them, clearing themselves up as they watched. There, in the middle of the square, was the figure of a man, made of the same black substance. He had assumed a peculiar pose, almost polite in the way he touched his fedora. Bits of silvery glass shone from his ensemble; a luminous pocketwatch, the ring on the middle finger of his right hand, the buttons lining his neat, businesslike suit, his cufflinks. "Who is this dude?" Beast Boy asked, voicing all of their thoughts.

"I don't know," Robin replied, "but maybe next time we'll get to meet him." He paused, then added sardonically, "If we're lucky."

"Yeah," the shapeshifter agreed. "Lucky." Still staring at the man in front of her, Raven contemplated how he looked as if he were waiting. But for what? She had the feeling that she didn't want to know.

From the outside, the eastern T Tower looked normal, standing guard like a steel sentry over its city. The illusion only lasted up to the sliding metal doors in the front. After that, everything seemed to degrade into a pile of rusty, once-useful junk that made up the entire living space. Here and there, plaster and paint were eroding, leaving spots of wires bare. Cyborg would bet that if any one of the appliances was put to use, a shower of sparks would fill the huge, dilapidated room. Bumblebee leaned on the worn, patched couch, arms folded. He glanced at the furniture quizzically. It had all been new when they had moved in. Now it looked as if it had seen a multitude of fierce, free-for alls.

"Hey, what's up with this?" he asked, motioning around the room. "What happened?" Starfire was gazing around at the ruin with large, concerned eyes.

"Yes, friends," she added. "Are you having the conflict?" Bee sighed.

"That's putting it lightly." The visiting Titans joined her by the couch. "I don't know what it is. Ever since you all left, it's been like World War Three in here. All of a sudden, Mas Y Menos don't like Speedy, Speedy doesn't like Mas Y Menos, Aqualad's caught in the middle, and none of them listen to me." Another sigh. "I've lost my authority, and...I'm terrible at getting it back. So now the tower is falling apart." There was a moment of ashamed silence on her part before Star enveloped her in a crushing hug.

"Do not worry, friend! We will put this right, will we not, Cyborg?" The humanoid smiled.

"Sure we will."

Raven watched the sun climb over the horixon, sending streaks of scarlet and gold rocketing into the sky like fireworks. The colors blended into each other as the daystar crept higher among clouds that seemed to be painted onto a backdrop of brilliance. She liked these times of day when nothing existed except the sky, the sun, and the earth laid out below. Then the magic would be gone, and life would begin again, as it always did. The fiery orb was beginning to light the creases between the tiny waves of the bay, its surface shimmering like stardust. The edge of the roof began to glow, and she knew that the moment was almost past. Turning to go back into the tower, she glanced one more time over her shoulder. A shaft of light hit her face with a flush of warmth; the white of her cloak erupted into ethereal illumination under Apollo's power. Lifting her face to the arch of the sky, she challenged the dawn, daring it to give her another new day.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the three Titans sat out on the rocks in front of the bay, like Raven had the day before. Robin picked up a flat brown stone and skipped it out across the water, once, twice, three times. She looked over at him, dressed in civilian clothes, the ever-present mask shielding his eyes. Someday, she resolved, she would see what lay under that. When he was ready. He caught her eye and smiled his trademark smile. "What happened to the spandex, wonder boy?" she inquired dryly.

"You miss it, sweetheart?" She lifted a delicate eyebrow. "Just like I know you miss the hair gel." That coaxed a slight laugh.

"Don't even go there." He smirked, coming to sit by her on the wide flat rock face. "I like your hair." She sifted lightly though it, watching the smooth ebony strands fall between her fingers. His head turned in time for him to catch her hand against his lips. She blinked at him, then smiled and let her palm move over the side of his face. He took it away, feeling her fingers slide into his. The empath looked out over the bay, the glare from the waves blinding.

"Guys?" Beast Boy came down from their left, where he had been walking the beach. He was slightly concerned.

"What's up?" Robin asked.

"Look." BB pointed. Up above the skyline of Jump City, a massive dark fog had begun to form. "The dude's back." They exchanged a brief glance and began bolting back towards the tower. Within five minutes, a red motorcycle ripped up the asphalt on the bridge to the city, flanked above by two airborne figures.

The main street was clogged with the dark smog, seeping into every available airspace. The light on the R-cycle slashed through the murky gloom, guiding the trio safely to the square. A dark portal swirled in the center, ten inches above the pavement. They waited. As the smoke cleared, the same gentleman as before stepped into the fresh air. He touched the brim of his hat upon seeing them. "My apologies." He had a quiet, unassuming kind of tone. "The fog is a slight inconvenience."

"Who are you?" The boy wonder was still wearing normal clothes, his eyebrow raised at the stranger.

"You would do well not to know me." Now that they could see him in person, he proved to be rather elderly, although spry in his build. "However, I know you, and you will insist on knowing me regardless of what I say." Beast Boy blinked.

"Uh...say what?" A small smile tilted their visitor's mouth.

"Oh yes, I know you. How could I not, my destination being as it is?" He gestured around at the metropolis. "You are its guardians. That being the case, it is too much for me to assume that you would leave me to my business unsuspected."

"Unsuspected of what?" The smile reappeared, aimed at Raven this time.

"Of my crimes, my dear. For you see, I am indeed a criminal of the worst kind."

I know, I know. How could I be so cruel as to stop there? Well that means you have to review, doesn't it? Heh. Anyway, sorry about the time it took to get this up. I had issues coming up with a good idea. Again, please review. Thanks.

Padfoot


	2. Chapter 2

Hola. It is now time for Chapter 2. But first...

**Tecna: **I know it was mean. I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.

**ravenslair: **Thank you!

There was a momentary pause before Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Dude, you're not supposed to tell us."

"Or perhaps I would, if I knew that there was nothing to be done about it." Raven gazed evenly out from beneath her hood.

"Define 'of the worst kind,'" she said, arms folded across her chest. The villain glanced at her, his eyes taking on a hazy, faraway look.

"I am a thief," he began, to looks of derision from the trio of heroes. "Mock me not until you know what I prey upon." The eyes sharpened again and focused on Beast Boy with a rapt intensity that proved rather disturbing. "Dreams, dear fellow. Dreams and prophecies, doorways into the unknown. The beautiful thing is that the root of a dream lies in the soul. That being said, many times, the soul is stolen as well. When that happens, the person belongs to me."

"You are such a freak," the empath observed.

"I am only a freak to those who have never seen one before." She laughed.

"Trust me, I've seen them, and you're among the biggest. Who do you think you're kidding? For all your talk, you know nothing of us, just as we know nothing of you. If that were true, you would know that somehow, we will find a way to stop you." The gent raised an eyebrow at her.

"For someone who has seen more than her share of hardship, you are extremely naive, Raven Roth. You of all people should understand what adversity does to people. You see, we are not so different, you and I." Pulling dpwn the edge of his hat, he continued. "But that is a story best saved for another day. I bid you farewell, Titans...for now." In a swirl of darkness, he was gone. Robin looked at the tower clock over City Hall. Ten minutes were gone.

"He doesn't stay very long, does he?" he mused.

"It was less last time," the shapeshifter said.

"I bet it'll be fifteen minutes next time." The boy wonder turned back toward his motorcycle. "I'll also bet he's in the database." He was probably right. The database, in addition to the files on active criminals, possessed another log dedicated to cold cases, ones that had not been pursued in months, or even years. Their new friend brought with him the feeling that he wasn't exactly fresh on the scene, and that second set of files would probably give them all the answers they needed.

The cursor blinked rapidly, indicating that a search was in progress. As each minute passed, the computer went farther and farther into the backlogged information. At the end of fifteen, it stopped. Robin sat up, watching the screen begin to fill with an extraordinary amount of data. "I think we've got it," he said, with a smirk on half his face. There were more photographs of the stately man, but many were old and faded, inasmuch as his last documented appearance had been over fifty years ago. In some, he was only identifiable by the glittering metal on his clothes. 'Lot of these are at night," the leader noted absentmindedly.

"He steals dreams." The boys looked at Raven suddenly. "What?" she asked. "He only told us himself."

"You're right," the masked teen agreed thoughtfully. "And dreams usually occur at night. Which would explain all the night pictures."  
"Hey, maybe he's nocturnal." BB was half joking, but as soon as the words left him, they all began to see their sense.

"Then he wouldn't be out very much during the day. The night probably serves as camoflage too," Robin added. "So that no one will see him going around taking souls." He turned to the computer. "He hasn't been here for a long time. Makes you wonder what lured him back." Raven was once again over his shoulder.

"The Piper. That's original." She thought for a moment. "Wait. Pipe dreams are fantasies that stand barely any chance of coming true."

"So?" She toyed with a lock of violet hair.

"So maybe he's not nocturnal." The beginnings of a revelation were showing on her face. "Maybe the kinds of dreams he's talking about are..."

"...the kinds of dreams that make life worth living," the changeling finished. He was starting to understand. "He doesn't take night dreams."

"He takes ambition." The wonder boy finished the thought.

"The soul is driven by its own will to live. Once that fire is out...the soul will cease to exist, except in the hands of the only one capable of relighting the flame." The enchantress floated a foot above the back of the sofa, serenely unraveling the mystery of their oddly foreboding new acquaintance.

"Which in this case would be the Piper," replied the man in the mask.

"Does this means that somewhere he has, like, an army of captured souls or something?" With a nod from his friends, Beast Boy swallowed. "That is so not cool."

"The worst enemies are those who know how to bide their time." The dull words of the demoness hung in the thick air, the truth within them blatant and ominous.

The ladder creaked under Cyborg's heavy steps as he dismounted the rungs. Looking up to admire his own handiwork, he grinned. "I'm good." The walls of the tower were dotted with spots of new plaster and paint, where he had recovered the harsh, bare wires. Now, maybe they could actually use their things in safety...or what was left of them. For all of its usefulness to the Titans, the kitchen might well have been a pile of volcanic ash. Thanks to Starfire, it wouldn't stay that way. She had been working busily all afternoon, humming the abrasive folk songs of Tamaran as she did so. Cy had learned how to block them out by now. He poked his head through the doorway. She was dusting with an alarmingly large, bright green feather duster, sweeping it energetically over the bare, newly polished surfaces. "How's it going?" he asked good-naturedly. Her smile seemed undaunted by the clouds of grayish dust that had floated from the countertops.

"Oh yes, friend! The home will be shiny in a large absence of time!" He ducked back out into clean air and surveyed the common room. She was right; the tower cleaned up real nice. Pretty soon, Titans East would be up and running, but maybe this time he and Star would have to stay a little longer so that history wouldn't repeat itself. Absently, he wondered about his friends back home, whether Beast Boy had ruined his tower yet. He shrugged his wide shoulders. They were strong. They'd be just fine.

He wasn't entirely right.

Ha. I did it again. You'll have to wait for the next chapter, I suppose. But while you're waiting, do me a favor and review. It would be much appreciated because everyone knows that Padfoot loves her reviewers. Thanks!

Padfoot


	3. Chapter 3

Okay. So this is Chapter Three, ja? Ja.

The Piper proved his patience over the course of three and a half weeks, during which he never once showed his shadowed face. After the second week, he began to drift toward the back of their minds. But they all knew it was too much to hope that he wasn't coming back. It was just a matter of time.

The sun was far too hot for the seventeenth of April. Beast Boy had melted onto the U-shaped couch, evading the piercing hot rays in vain. "It's supposed to be spring, not the middle of hell," he muttered. "Even all the bad dudes aren't out. They'd burn." He paused. "Save us some time, though." The clouds shifted, shielding him from sunlight. He relaxed.

"What are you doing, BB?" Robin walked through the soor, running a hand through loose dark hair.

"Trying to survive," the changeling answered. Robin grinned halfheartedly. "Not working too well."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Beast Boy cast him a sideways glance.

"How much you wanna bet Raven's sitting on a giant block of ice and not telling us right now?" Laughter broke the boy wonder's somber-ish expression.

"I don't." The boys turned around to find their female friend leaning in the doorway.

"Aw Raven, I was just kidding." She smirked.

"I know, zoo-boy." Her eyes trained briefly on the window. The heatwave had thrown Jump City into a smoggy golden haze that shifted and changed with the wind. "This weather has turned Jump City into a ghost town." It was meant as an exaggeration, but the statement was soon to come true. Admittedly, though, she had gotten the cause wrong. The weather was not to be at fault.

The clock struck seven-fifteen as a shadow passed across one of the massive front windows, falling directly across the pages of Raven's novel. She glanced up quickly, just in time to see the Piper disappear around the corner of the island. Two arms of black energy darted out and seized the male Titans, pulling them unceremoniously into the common room and dumping them onto the couch beside her. "I saw him," she stated in her usual monotonous way.

"Where?" BB asked, still upside down where she'd released him on her left. Raven pointed.

"He went around the end of the island." Even at dusk, the heat still fell heavy on the land, making it seem difficult to see, or even move. Now, however they had no choice. At least one of them would have to go out into the boiling fog. The trio looked at each other.

"I'll go," the changeling said. "Maybe animal senses work better in the heat." In a flash, he was gone, and the two saw him move carefully down by the rocks and disappear. Robin glanced at the dark girl.

"Nice way to get us in here," he remarked, smiling slightly. She dismissed it carelessly.

"It was quick and easy." A devilish glint appeared unseen in his eye.

"Maybe I should learn to do that, hey?" She glared.

"Robin, you are so not grabbing me anywhere." All he did was laugh. Faintly stern, she placed a pale hand on the back of his neck, pressing lightly. He glanced at her.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it.

"Sure you couldn't." She kissed the base of his jaw lightly. "You never can." He grinned at her.

"Nope." He brushed a lock of purple hair out of her eyes. "Never." The pin on her cloak beeped, blinking bright red, just as his communicator went off. He flipped it open.

"Robin!" Beast Boy appeared on the screen. "I'm coming back to the tower."

"Okay," Robin replied. "What's up?" The shapshifter shook his head. He looked worried.

"Tell you when I get there." He made a move as if to turn off their connection, but checked himself. "Oh yeah, one more thing. As soon as I get in there, we've gotta lock down." Then the screen went blank. The boy wonder shot a glance out of the window and stood up quickly. "What the hell went on out there?" Neither he nor his dark friend could answer.

Cyborg lay recharging and immobile in his makeshift guest room off the main hall of the tower's fifth floor. It had been a busy day, and he was resting while Star and Bee went out. The sound effects of Aqualad and Speedy's game reverberated up through the ceilings, barely audible by the time they reached the fifth story. As his tech revitalized, the round yellow mechanism on the table beside the platform began to sound with a series of small beeps. Down the hall, Starfire's communicator was doing the same thing. The noise not being enough to rouse him, both went unnoiticed, as the clocks in either room displayed the time: Seven twenty-three.

Beast Boy was back inside by seven twenty-eight; the tower secured by four minutes past the half hour. He drew the compact little circle inscribed with the Titans' symbol on it out of his pocket. "I wonder if I reached Cy and Star. I don't remember whether I only connected with you or not." There was no other way to contact them, seeing as the computer in the eastern tower had been shut down because Cyborg had deemed it an operating disaster. It was awaiting reconfiguration. The backup system couldn't make connections this far. "Whatever. Here's why we're locked down."

Heh. I'm so evil. No wonder you all are mad at me. Heh heh. Please review. If there is anyone reviewing who doesn't get it, I can explain before the next chapter. Thanks.

Padfoot


	4. Chapter 4

"We're in lockdown mode because that dude out there is out to get us. In fact, he already has. To an extant, that is." Robin and Raven stared at him. "Remember when we first met him and he was all, 'I know you' and stuff?" You ever wonder how? I mean we'd never seen him before." They gave the Beast a slow nod. "I found out how like five minutes ago." He lowered his voice. "The dude dissolves."

"He what?" the empath demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm serious," BB insisted. "That's how he gets in here. He turns into mist. Look." He pointed out the window, where a heavy, unusually dark fog was materializing. "That's him. He can't get in now, not with the electromagnetic fields, or whatever. But he's been in here before."

"I wonder how much he knows," Robin mused.

"That's my point," said the changeling. "There's no telling how much he found out.

"Probably more than we want to admit," Raven put in. "If he's been around for over fifty years, even if he wasn't active, he's probably seen a lot." The boy wonder glared distastefully out the window at the now dissipating fog.

"He's going." There was a pause. The masked features were set in an expression of grim determination that both the others recognized. "We're going to find a way to catch him and see just how knowledgeable he is." The smog had now vanished, swallowed up into a single point of black, which also disappeared in the blink of an eye. "No matter what we have to do."

The Piper smiled to himself as he traveled through his portal. "My dear, dear children," he said quietly. "The Piper has ears too, you know." There was a game to be played with the three young ones. A game of the mind. And he had never been known to lose.

Oooh...suspense. Sorry for the shortness, but it helps with the plot and tension, you know? Hah, you probably hate me. (laughs) Okay. So review or I won't post again. God knows it takes enough effort.

Padfoot


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